Resilient wheel



may 27, 1924. 1,495,464

M. VAARALA RESITITENT WHEEL Filed Aug, 24, 1925 z sheets-sheep 1 May 27,1924. l 1,495,464

M. VAARALA RESILIENT vWHEEL.

Filed Aug. 24 1925 2 wwwsheen 2 mmm Applicationy led August 24, 1923.

To all whom t may concer/n:

Be it known that I, MATTI VAARAL'A, a

citizen of the United States, residing at- Painesdale, in the county of-Houghton and State of Michigan, have inventedl certainnew and usefulImprovements in Resilient Wheels; and I do declare the following tov bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as' willenable others skilled in the artvto which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention relates to resilient wheels of the typevin whichshock-absorbing compression springs are interposed between' a fellyandrim.

One object'ofthe invention istoprovide a novel arrangement offolly-carried cushioning springs and'coacting rim-carrying plungers, andto mount. the springs inl a unique manner to effectively anchor them,while permitting their outer'endportions to compress andl absorb shocks.

Another object is toplace the convolutions at the inner portions ofcertain of 'the springs, in tight contactwith each other, thusformi'ngcylinders-in which the plungers operate, the inner ends of saidcylindersbeing closed, whereby pneumatic cushions are formed, in addition to thecushioning action of the springs.

In mounting the springs, -circumferentially spaced folly-carried,cylinder-forming blocks are employed, and a further aim is to makenovel'vprovisionfor rigidly holding said-blocks in properly spacedrelation.'

Yet another aim is to provide a rim formed of pivotally-connectedsections associatedin a novel manner with the plungers.

A still further object is toprovide a re-' silient wheel.v structurewhich will be comparatively simple and inexpensive, yetwill- Figure l isa fragmentary longitudinalsectional view, partly in4A elevation.

Figure 2 isa transversefsectional view as indicated byt line'2-2 of Fig.l.

Figure 3 isa partial plan view o-f the pe- Lttttf RESILIENT WHEEL.

Serial No. 659,182.

riphery of the wheel, parts being broken away and in section.

In constructing the preferred form of my invention, which I haveselected yfor illustration in the present application, I makeusev of a`channel-shaped metal felly which is designated' in the vdrawings by thenumeral l.v Snugly received between the side-flanges 2 ofthe felly 1, atcircumferentially spaced points,varea number of metal blocks 3 which`extend uninterruptedly from one of the flanges 2, to the other of saidflanges. The outer ends of the blocks 3, are provided withcircumferentially extending lugs l which ex tend between the flanges 2,the lugs of each block, being in contact with the adjacent lugs ofadjacent blocks, as shown clearly Fig. l. Spacers 5, preferablyformed ofwood, are interposed between the lblocks 3, the outer portionsv ofv saidspacers being in contact with the inner sides of the lugs 4, and radialbolts 6 pass through the lugs and spacers and through the innersidey ofthe felly 1.v i u In the present disclosure, each of the blocks 3, isformed with a pair of radial openings 7, constituting cylinders for apair of relatively large, radially positioned', coiled, compressionsprings 8. The cylinder-contained portions ofthe springs 8, have theirconvolutions disposed in tightcontact with each other and theseconvolutions contact tightly with the walls of the cylinders, so thatthe springs are effectively anchored. rlhe convolutions beyond theblocks 3, however, are spaced apart so that the outer ends of thevsprings may compress to absorb shocks.'

Disposed within the'springs 8, are auxiliary cylinders 9, which contactwith'the inner sides'of said springs, said cylinders 9 being. securedtothe folly l, in' a manner hereinafter described. yAuxiliarycompression springs 1.0l are tightly received in the cylinders 9 andhave their cylinder-contained convolutions disposed in tight contactwith.. each other. The other ends of the springs 10, however, projectbeyond-the cyl inders and beyond the springs 8 and have theirconvolutions spaced apart, permitting them to compress and absorbshocks'.

Radially disposed plungers 1ll are slidably' receivedv inthe springs'lOandare provided at their outer ends, with transverse plates 12, theendsl of each plate being provided FFE QE.

MATTI vAAaALA, .or PAINESDALE, MICHIGN. i y

with a pair of radially projecting lugs 13, for a purpose to appear. ltmay .here be pointed out, that the plates 12 and plunge-rs 11 moveinwardly against the action of the springs 10 only, when slight roadroughness is encountered, and that under excessive jars, the plates 12strike the relatively large springs 8 and thus bring them into play. lnaddition to these cushioning actions, attention is directed to the factthat the tightly coiled inner po-rtions ot the springs 10, formcylinders in which the plungers 11 operate, thus providing pneumaticcushions also.

Any desired means may be provided for securing the cylinders 9 in place,but as it is necessary to provide for lubricating the plungers 11, lprefer to provide common means for securing the cylinders and permittingthe lubricant lto be injected. lin the present showing, cap screws 14are passed through the inner ends of the cylinders 9 and are threadedthrough the telly 1, the inner ends of said screws being positioned incountersinks 15, in the Jfelly. The screws 14 are formed with oil ports16, and caps 17, within the countersinks 15, are normally threaded uponthe screws to close said ports. By removing these caps however aquantity of oil may be injected through the ports 16, to lubricate theplungers 11 and springs 10, thus insuring smooth and easy operationthereof.

While any adequate rim structure might be used in connection with thefeatures above described, I prefer to provide a rim formed of arcuatesections 18 having intermeshing knuckles 19 which rest against the outersides of the plates 12, the knuckles of adjacent sections, beingpivotally connected with each other by pins 2O passing therethrough, theends of the pins being in abutting relation with the lugs 13, so thatthe latter hold them against removal, as well as holding the entire rimstructure against lateral shifting. To permit the necessary relativemovement of the sections 18, allowing the plungers 11 to move radially,certain of the openings in said sections, through which the pins 20pass, are of elliptical form as indicated at 21.

Any desired means may be employed to prevent circumferential creeping ofthe rim, upon the plates 12, but Jfor this purpose l have disclosed arounded stud 22 on one of the plates 12, received rather loosely in asocket 23 in the adjacent rim sections 18, it being understood that anydesired number of studs and sockets may be used in the complete wheel.

Any desired form of tire (not shown) may be used upon the rim and willbe held against lateral shifting thereon, by the projecting outer endsof the lugs 13. To permit the tire to be easily applied, it is necessaryto first compress a number of the cushioning springs 8 and 10,permitting the diincense ameter of the rim to be decreased. Tofucilitate this operation, I have shown apertured lugs 24C on the endsof the plates 12, for engagement by any desired means tor drawing saidplates inwardly and holding f themv until the tire is applied.

By providing the construction shown and described or a substantialequivalent thereof, a spring wheel is provided which will becomparatively simple and inexpensive, yet it i spring contiguous to theconvolutions thereof, an auxiliary coiled compression spring in saidauxiliary cylinder contiguous to the wall thereof and extending beyondthe outer end ot the first-named spring, and a rimcarrying plungerslidable in said auxiliary spring and having a shoulder abutting thesame, said shoulder being adapted to strike the relatively large springunder severe shocks.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1; the cylinder-contained portionsof said springs having their convolutions in tight contact with eachother.

3. A structure as speciiied in claim 1; the cylinder-contained portionof said auxiliary spring having its convolutions in tight contact witheach other to provide a cylinder for said plunger.

4f. A resilient wheel comprising a tellycarried coiled compressionspring disposed radially, and a rim-carrying plunger slidable in saidspring and having a shoulder bearing against the outer end thereof, theinner portion of said spring having its convolutions in tight contactwith each other to provide a cylinder for the plunger, said cylinderbeing closed at its inner end.

Miti

lll@

liti

5. A resilient wheel comprising a periphplates each having a pair oftransversely spaced radially extending lugs, a plurality of rim sectionsextending between said plates and having intermeshed knuckles rest- 5ing on said plates, pivot pins extending through said knuckles andabutting said lugs, and means for holding said rim sections againstcircumferential creeping on said plates, said lugs extending beyond saidrim sections to retain a tire in place on the l0 latter.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

MATTI VAARALA.

